Federal Courts Pause Hundreds of Trump Policy Lawsuits Amid Government Shutdown

The federal government shutdown in 2025 has led to a widespread pause in civil lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump's administration policies, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal courts scale back non-essential legal work. The DOJ has requested stays and deadline extensions in numerous cases nationwide, citing the shutdown's impact on their ability to meet legal deadlines, particularly in civil matters involving immigration policies, grant terminations, and other Trump-era actions. Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a standing order granting blanket extensions for civil cases involving the federal government to conserve judicial resources and avoid a flood of individual stay motions. While criminal prosecutions continue uninterrupted due to their classification as excepted activities, civil litigators are largely furloughed, and courts are operating under funding constraints that may last only until mid-October. Some courts have denied DOJ requests for pauses, but the overall effect has been a significant slowdown in litigation against the Trump administration across various issues including immigration, funding, and federal policy challenges. This pause affects hundreds of lawsuits and could delay resolution of key disputes until government funding is restored.